In series of meetings that began almost a year ago with the Ministry of Transport, senior Mossad officials requested construction of a railway station near its headquarters in Glilot, just north of Tel Aviv. The Mossad, which wants the station for the convenience of employees and to assist its recruitment drive, is supported by the Ramat Hasharon Municipality, which has jurisdiction over Glilot.
At a conference held by the Israel Land Authority (ILA) earlier this month, Mayor Yitzhak Rochberger said that while the Ministry of Transport and Israel Railways are willing to invest in a railway station in his city, which will serve thousands of residents as well as the needs of the security agencies, the Ministry of Finance, and its Budget Division, are not prepared to invest in the station. Dana Dover, coordinator in the Budget Division responsible for the issue, explained that she is not familiar with the request and that it has not been conveyed to her.
The station that the Mossad and Ramat Hasharon Municipality want built would be less than two kilometers from Herzliya station, and about 1.6 kilometers from another station to be built in Glilot, called Glilot South. Glilot South will be a major transport hub that will link Israel Railways to two Metro stations that will pass beneath, and is planned as part of a development that includes 18,000 housing units, as well as commercial and office space.
No train to Tel Aviv
Despite the close proximity of the planned Glilot South station, the Ramat Hasharon municipality is outraged by the decision not to budget for a station in the city, which they say contradicts the position of the Ministry of Transport and Israel Railways. The office of Minister of Transport Miri Regev even issued a press release after the conference, with a quote from the mayor: "Unfortunately, it was former Minister of Transport Meirav Michaeli who canceled the railway project because she listened to her officials. I was pleasantly surprised by a meeting with Minister of Transport Miri Regev and her director general - the efficiency in decision-making in promoting projects in general and the railway in particular is simply unbelievable."
However, the additional station planned by the municipality, which is also conducting an economic feasibility study by marketing land in the area, includes an underground parking lot with 750 parking spaces at a cost of NIS 365 million, with plans to add another 550 parking spaces, offices and commercial space in the second phase, so that the cost will jump to NIS 850 million.
Even if these huge sums are invested despite the Ministry of Transport's policy, which generally rules out construction of stations less than five kilometers from each other, there would be engineering obstacles to overcome in building the western platforms. The eastern platform would only be used by suburban trains, which stop at smaller stations and do not connect between metropolitan areas. In addition, each extra railway station slows the speed of travel between metropolitan areas, or the station would only have access to suburban trains that would not meet demand.
Moreover, the construction of two additional railways tracks adjacent to the Ayalon Highway is only planned for at least another 15 years. This would mean that trains will only run from the Sharon region stations at the new Glilot station, at a frequency of two trains per hour. In other words, there would be no direct trains from the new station to Tel Aviv.
Alternatively, if it is decided not to build the Glilot South station and instead adopt the Ramat Hasharon municipality's plan, the intersection point between the planned Metro lines would have to be moved to create plans for a new transport hub, will the new station would be far away from the planned 18,000 apartments.
Stations through Private Development
Ramat Hasharon Municipality is not the only city pushing for additional stations. Mayors also want stations in Netivot, and Rosh HaAyin. The cost could be met by allowing private developers to build stations in exchange for building rights over them or through land marketing, but this would negatively affect the country's train services and the already limited allocation of land. The Ministry of Transport's ability to withstand political pressure from local authorities has broad implications for train services.
Rochberger told Globes: "It's a shame and a disgrace that the State of Israel works like this. This is a country that works in reverse and it's impossible to develop the country like this. This station was agreed upon over 20 years ago and all the parties are unanimous that there should be a station: the railways, the Ministry of Transport and the District Committee. If you want to develop the country, you need a railway, and if not, then they will continue to sink in the mud. It's a shame that Ministry of Finance officials are running the country. I proposed that the construction of the station would not cost the state a single shekel, but from the revenues of the land improvement and land levies, and to build the railway station privately, which we know how to do, and if they still want to stop it, let them stop the development of the State of Israel."
The Ministry of Transport said, "The construction of the Glilot North railway station is being examined as part of the ministry's strategic development plans and their integration into the fabric of the future national rail network. This is about building a station through private developers, the cost of which is paid by the developer and not the Ministry of Transport or the state. Building the station in the north allows for development in two phases, first as a station serving passengers and second as a commercial and office project with an underground parking lot."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 31, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.